Always There
by Hypo Prower
Summary: They've returned from their training mission, and now a series of events leaves Kakashi even more worried about his students well being. KakaOC. Sequel to Without a Doubt. Rated for violence. Bonus chapter added!
1. Escape from the Hospital

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, dudes! I was impatient, so here is the first chapter of the sequel to Without a Doubt! If you like, please review. They encourage me you know :)**

* * *

The air was quiet and calm that warm summer night in Konoha. It had been two weeks since Kakashi and Ai Raiokachi had left for their training mission. The two somehow ended up seeing a lot more of each other, whether it was when they were on missions together, practicing with the team, or just plain ol' hanging out.

At the moment, Ai was asleep in her bed in the house she shared with Guy. Her window was open because the night was so warm, and she was dressed in a tank top and shorts. She hardly even needed a comforter. The chunin sighed contentedly and snuggled into her pillow. It was around midnight.

Suddenly, she bolted upright. A sharp, burning pain ran through her chest. She didn't dare to cough; she thought she might cough up blood if she did. In spite of herself, she cried out, wincing at the pain and effort it took scream.

Guy's eyes fluttered open in an instant. He heard Ai scream, and leapt out of bed and dashed to her bedroom. He ran inside and grabbed onto his foster daughter's shoulders. "Ai? What is it?!" he demanded, beginning to quiver with fear.

"M-my chest…" Ai choked out. "It's b-burning…"

Guy's pupils dilated. That couldn't be good. He picked her up in his arms. "We're going to the hospital," he told her swiftly, and bolted out the door, pajamas and all.

The door burst open to the hospital, which alarmed the night team greatly. Generally they didn't have any patients at midnight, when everybody was sleeping. Shizune, who happened to be part of the team tonight, flew out of her chair and ran to Guy. The jonin was quivering greatly.

"I don't know what's happening," he told her. "She said her chest was on fire…"

Shizune did a hand sign, and her hand started glowing. Guy held onto her tightly as the medic searched her chest with her hand. She gasped lightly at what she saw.

"OK, everyone listen up!" she announced, addressing the night team. "Two of you go prep for surgery, one of you get a bed, and someone else needs a vaccine of 27-A. Got it?"

The team nodded and got up in a hurrying haste to get their supplies.

Guy watched them go, then looked down at Ai's face. She quivered and clutched her chest. He looked up at Shizune, "Will she be OK?"

Shizune sighed and looked back in the direction her team had run off. "I don't know," she admitted.

***

Kakashi was peacefully calm that morning. He strode up a concrete road, his nose buried in his book. He hardly even noticed when a figure ran by him at top speed. Then the figure backtracked and yanked the book out of Kakashi's hands.

The figure was Natsu Morika, who was a member of Team 22, Ai's team. He had messy black hair, a long-sleeved black shirt, and a pair of tan shorts which were loosely pulled on in a rush. "Kakashi-sensei!" he exclaimed.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he took his book back. "What is it, Natsu?"

"Didn't you hear?" Natsu exclaimed. "Ai was admitted in the hospital last night, and they did some kind of surgery on her!" Kakashi's pupils dilated, and his book was all but forgotten. He shoved it in his weapon's roster and dashed towards the hospital, not waiting for Natsu.

The door burst open as Kakashi dashed in. Tsunade was leaning on the front desk. She sighed. "I thought you'd come," she said. Kakashi stood in front of his Hokage.

"Where's Ai?" he asked.

Natsu had come in the door by this time, and stood behind Kakashi. Tsunade sighed again and rubbed her forehead.

"Last night, according to Guy, Ai woke up with a start in the night. She said that her chest felt like it was on fire. Guy grabbed her and ran to the hospital. I was asleep at the time, but Shizune said that she at least got Ai stable and stopped the pain in her chest.

"Shizune discovered that Ai had a rare condition in her lungs. It's essentially a false heart attack; the heart stops beating momentarily and the lungs stop pumping oxygen. The person with the disorder finds it hard to breathe, because it is. They literally have to make the brain send signals to the heart to pump.

"It really doesn't help anything that she got over pneumonia recently, either. She wouldn't notice this disorder in the day, because she's constantly breathing. But in the night, when her brain shuts down, the disorder kicks in."

Kakashi sighed at the explanation and crossed his arms. "Is there anything you can do?" he asked. Tsunade nodded.

"There is a surgery," she replied. "But…it's essentially open heart surgery. The chance of failure is devastating…"

Natsu frowned. "Ai would never agree to that, then," he explained. Tsunade and Kakashi looked at the genin expectantly. "If Ai ever had the risk of not being a ninja, she wouldn't take it. Being a ninja is her whole life, and I doubt that she would throw it away on surgery that may or may not kill her."

The three sat in silence for a moment, deep in thought. It was only when Guy showed up that they started paying attention again. "Hey," the jonin greeted half-heartedly.

"You look terrible," Kakashi commented. He had on his regular jumpsuit and vest, but his eyes had bags under them from stress. His normally spic-n-span hair was mussed up in places, and his knuckles were white from being clenched.

Guy rolled his eyes. "Well, thanks," he said, then collapsed into a nearby chair. Natsu watched him for a moment.

"I'm guessing Lady Tsunade already told you everything?" he asked. Guy looked up at him.

"Yes, she's told me…everything." Kakashi watched his rival for a couple seconds to see if he was going to burst out in tears. He never did, though, just closed his eyes and rubbed his temple with two fingers.

***

Ai zipped up her orange cloth jacket, which matched her pants, and tied her lightning-blonde hair up in a ponytail. She tied her Konoha headband around her forehead snugly under her bangs. Her brilliant blue eyes flashed as she blinked from the sunlight reflecting off the window.

"All set," she muttered. Then, when she was sure no one was looking, he opened the window and leapt out of it. She landed neatly on a nearby rooftop.

"Ha ha! Freedom!" she cried. She turned back to the hospital and stuck out her tongue and pulled down her eye socket, then leapt away, laughing.


	2. Sitting in a Tree

**So, here's chapter two. Hope you like.**

**Just as a side note, this one (as well as the third and most likely the fourth) is only 16 pages, whereas Without a Doubt was 18. So it will most likely only have 5-6 chapters rather than seven.**

* * *

Natsu knocked on the door to Ai's room. "Ai?" he called. He received no response. Curiously, he opened the door and saw that Ai's hospital gown lay on the bed, and her clothes were gone.

"Crap," he muttered, slapping his forehead. "She did it again."

***

Ai had climbed into a tree that was so tall that you would have to climb to see the top. She went up here often whenever she needed to clear her mind. Not today, though. She breathed out peacefully, taking her sword holster off her back before attempting to lie down belly-up.

The chunin placed her hands behind her head and looked up at the sky. The branch had been smoothed away by hundreds of years of erosion, so it wasn't uncomfortable in the least.

"I got it made," Ai muttered to herself, and she closed her eyes, attempting a nap.

Meanwhile, on the ground far below the branch Ai was laying on, Kakashi and Guy were absolutely frantic. "Where could she have gone?" Guy demanded. "We've checked nearly the entire village!"

Kakashi looked from side to side. "I know," he agreed. "You don't think she could have left the village, do you?"

Guy shook his head. "No way…if she did, it would take forever to find her. But just in case…maybe we should ask Lady Tsunade if we can have a lock-down on the gate."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You really think it's that serious?" he asked. Guy shrugged.

"Better safe than sorry." Kakashi thought for a moment before finally nodding.

"Alright. You go and tell the Hokage, and I'll keep looking."

"Sounds good," Guy replied, then dashed off towards the Hokage's office.

Back up in the branch, all Ai heard was muttering. She couldn't have understood a word that either Kakashi or Guy was saying. She shrugged it off and attempted to take that nap again.

***

Ai wasn't sure exactly what woke her up. It was either the burning in her chest or the fact that Kakashi was gripping her tightly and jumping down the tree from branch to branch.

"What the…?" Ai muttered as she woke up. Kakashi looked down at her face, his expression a mix of relief and irritation.

"What on earth were you thinking?" he demanded as he put her down on the ground. Ai didn't respond as she started coughing. Kakashi stood there awkwardly for a moment, not knowing what to do. The burning would wear away on its own once Ai woke up, right?

The chunin reached into her weapon's roster and pulled out her inhaler. Kakashi saw it and immediately started to panic. "Ai!" he gasped, remembering scary thoughts from when the two were on their training mission and she almost passed out from an attack.

Ai sighed with relief after a moment once the mist had traveled down her throat. She replaced the inhaler in her weapon's roster and looked up at her teacher's face. She smiled sheepishly, "Er…hey?"

Kakashi placed his hand on her shoulder. "I absolutely cannot believe you would sneak out in your condition," he said. "And you would climb a tree that high. You were sound asleep! What if you had rolled over?" Ai rolled her eyes and snorted.

"I'm fine, sensei," she replied. "You shouldn't overreact."

"Overreact?!" Kakashi demanded. "You want to talk to me about overreacting?! I thought I had lost my student! Guy and I were both nervous wrecks! Tsunade was about to lock down the village gate, for Pete's sake!"

Ai suddenly grabbed a hold of Kakashi and started snuggling into his chest in a hug. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

On the inside, Kakashi melted. He tried to stay stone cold on the outside, though. "Don't pull that on me, Ai," he said sternly. "Just because it's kind of cute, it won't get you off the hook." He thoughtfully gazed into space. "Or else Sakura would be spoiled rotten by now." Ai refused to let go, though, and Kakashi couldn't help but feel weak with relief that this was all over now.

"I'm just happy you're safe," he muttered. "But please, in the future…don't scare me like that again, OK?"

"OK!" Ai agreed, and released her teacher. He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Let's go tell Guy before he has a coronary, shall we?"

***

At first, Guy was absolutely outraged that Ai would sneak off like that, but about 30 seconds into his lecture, Ai coughed a little. This caused the jonin to melt (in a similar fashion as Kakashi), and he hugged his foster daughter until she couldn't breathe from lack of oxygen.

"Heart problems, Guy," Kakashi gently reminded his rival as he tugged Ai away from his hug.

"Oh, right," Guy realized, then ruffled Ai's hair. "Sorry."

Natsu soon came running up to Ai. "Hey, Ai!" he called, then stopped in front of her. He looked a little angry, "Why'd you run off like that? You know how much you scared everyone?"

"Scared everyone?!" Ai demanded, irritation starting to spark in her eyes. "You know how much it scared me whenever I woke up strapped to about a bazillion cords when I felt absolutely fine?!"

Natsu frowned and backed away a little from the fierce kunoichi. "Er, sorry," he muttered, then put his hands in his pockets.

There was silence for a minute before Tsunade strode up to them in the hospital lobby, where they were all standing. The Hokage handed Ai a folder filled with papers. "Here, these are medical forms," she explained. Ai took them and nearly collapsed under the weight.

"Geez!" she exclaimed, straining against the weight. Kakashi took some of the papers out of the folder, which helped relieve the strain. "Why are you giving me medical forms?" she asked.

Tsunade sighed, knowing that there was no way to easily explain this. "You have a serious medical condition that, if not treated, may or may not kill you. The only known way to cure this is to put in a small machine in your heart that constantly sends signals to your brain to keep it pumping.

"Naturally, this would require open heart surgery. Open heart surgery has a 75% chance of…going wrong. The heart is a fragile organ, and one tiny slip could cause your whole body to shut down. We're going to need your consent before we do this."

Guy glared at Tsunade fiercely. "What about me? I'M her guardian!" he argued. Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"It's not your body," she explained. "It's Ai's."

All eyes fell on Ai as she stared at the stack of papers in front of her. If she got this surgery…it would probably end her life. If not, so what? She would just wake up every night, get her lungs and heart working again, then fall back asleep.

"Not doing it," Ai said firmly, and placed the giant folder on the desk in the lobby.

Tsunade studied her carefully. "Think carefully," she said. "You're saying no to a surgery that could cure the disorder and make your heart work even better than before."

"I'm saying no to a surgery that could end my life!" Ai argued back. Angry, she shoved off the desk and ran out of the lobby.

Kakashi watched her go and sighed. "I'll go talk to her," he said, and walked off in her direction.

* * *

**Ooooh, what's gonna happen with Kakashi and Ai? Well, there's only ONE way to find out...REVIEW! Actually you don't really have to review, because I'm just gonna keep putting chapters up anyway. But it would help, you know :)**


	3. Date

**OK, the fact that the chapters are longer than the ones in Without a Doubt means that the story, in turn, is going to seem shorter. Don't worry; it's only a couple pages shorter than the first one. The third one is the same length.**

**In other news, I got the fourth one done last night. Go me! Please review.**

* * *

Ai gazed out to the open sky, finding it hard not to fall asleep. She was lying on a rooftop on a building near the center of Konoha. It wasn't long before Kakashi joined her, which she expected. The jonin sat down beside her.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Kakashi asked.

"Nope."

The student and teacher sat there in silence for awhile longer. Once 5 minutes had passed, Kakashi knew he wasn't getting any response.

"What are you going to do about your…condition?"

Ai blinked and shrugged. "I can always get more inhalers from Lady Tsunade when mine runs out…I'll find a way to deal with the pain. Soon it'll just become something I'm used to."

Kakashi studied her face for a moment. "What if you don't wake up when you stop breathing? I mean, you slept through those attacks back a couple weeks ago. What makes you think that you're always going to wake up?"

"I'll wake up," Ai assured. "And I can deal with the pain…"

"No!"

Ai's pupils dilated when she heard Kakashi fierce voice. She sat up and stared at him. He stared back, his expression hard. "Why are you convinced you can deal with all your pain?" he demanded. "You have no real family to speak of. And now your heart is failing. Doesn't that hurt?! Doesn't that all get old?!"

Kakashi mashed his lips together under his mask. Ai's expression turned angry. "I CAN deal with the pain! You know why?! I have no limits! I haven't ever run out of chakra in my life—"

"You can't say that!" Kakashi ordered. "Everybody has limits. Maybe you haven't reached yours—yet. But if you don't get this surgery, you're going to. And then you're going to die."

Ai glared Kakashi right in the eye, and he did the same. They stared at each other for a few moments before Ai's eyes turned soft again, then glassy. This caught Kakashi off guard. His heart thudded in his chest as he cautiously approached his student.

"I…d-don't want to…" Kakashi put his hand on her shoulder for comfort.

"I don't want you to either," he replied. "But you need to do this."

Ai wiped a tear out of her eye. Suddenly, she smiled the tiniest smile, then looked up at the jonin again. "OK," she agreed. "I'll get the surgery. BUT…there's one condition."

Kakashi curiously raised an eyebrow. "What's your condition?" Ai smirked and pointed at his chest.

"YOU have to go on a date with me!"

Kakashi's pupils dilated in surprise. A date?!

"That's right!" Ai beamed. "And not just as teacher and student, either. You have to take me on a real date, just as you would someone like Anko, or Shizune."

There was silence for a moment as Kakashi pondered this. He could never be Ai's boyfriend, he knew, but he could deal with taking her on a date. Besides, it would make her do the surgery…

"Alright," Kakashi finally said. Ai smiled and her blue eyes danced playfully in the sunlight.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!" she smiled. "Pick me up tonight, OK?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "That soon?" he asked. "Well, whatever. But you're getting the surgery tomorrow morning. Got it?"

Ai grinned from ear to ear. "Yup. See ya tonight!" With that, she hopped off.

"Wait! Don't over-work yourself!" Kakashi called after her. However, she was already out of sight.

***

"What are you getting all dressed up for?"

Guy's wary voice was directed at Ai as she walked out of her room to grab her shoes. She rolled her eyes, knowing that if Guy found out she was going on a date with his rival, he would stop her.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing to worry about."

Guy studied her for a moment as she put on her shoes, but said nothing else. She was wearing a nicer shirt with dark jeans. The jonin raised one of his bushy eyebrows. "Oh, and what made you decide to get that surgery so suddenly?" he asked. "I thought you were totally against it."

Ai finished putting on her other shoe and stood up. "Well, something Kakashi-sensei said made me change my mind…" she trailed off. Then she made her way for the door.

"When are you coming back?" Guy called to her.

"Around 10, I guess," Ai replied, realizing it was 7 o'clock. No one else said anything as the chunin began walking towards the bridge that Kakashi told her to meet at.

Guy sighed and clenched his forehead. What on earth was going to happen to Ai tonight?

***

Kakashi straightened his tie one last time and checked his watch. It was almost 7:15. Ai should be there soon.

As if on cue, the kunoichi walked up to Kakashi. She gasped as his appearance. He was dressed in a black tux with a white jacket. He wore a red tie that had black stripes on it. He smiled at her.

"You look nice," he commented. Ai blushed.

"Pssh, yeah right! Compared to you I might as well be dressed in rags!" Kakashi chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"That's an exaggeration," he replied. "Now c'mon, let's get to the restaurant so we can get our reservations."

Kakashi held the door for Ai as she walked in. The restaurant was fancy, with ornate décor all over it. As Ai was marveling, Kakashi walked up to the person at the front lobby and asked for reservations for Hatake. She got up and led the two to a table near the back of the restaurant that was candle-lit.

Ai smiled at Kakashi as they sat down. "You really outdid yourself, sensei," she commented, picking up the menu. "The candles are nice."

"Only the best for you," he joked, and picked up the menu himself.

***

After dinner was over, which took about an hour, it was a little after 8pm. Kakashi put his hands in his pockets and walked beside Ai. The kunoichi was marveling at the moon, which was waning. "The sky is so beautiful tonight," she commented.

Kakashi agreed wordlessly. "What do you want to do now?" he asked. Ai thought a moment and shrugged.

"You got anything?" she asked hopefully.

The jonin smiled slyly under his mask. "I might know something," he revealed, and grabbed his student's hand. She giggled as they ran side-by-side through Konoha and eventually stopped at a lake that had a bridge crossing over it. She was a little confused.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked. Kakashi walked over to the side of the bridge and leaned forward.

"Look," he suggested. Ai went to stand next to him and peered into a lake.

Under the surface, which could clearly be seen by the moon's light, there were dozens of fish. They swam in what seemed to be rehearsed patterns. Ai was speechless at how cool the scene was.

"Whoa," she marveled. "What are they doing?"

"Mating," Kakashi answered. "You can't hear it, but they're giving off a mating call. Then they start to swim in little patterns, and the fish that want to mate with them join the circle. But each fish only has one perfect match in the whole lake."

Ai's heart thudded as she thought about how that was like the world. Sure, people could marry or divorce many times in their life, but there would only be one perfect person for them in the whole world.

Suddenly, she felt Kakashi's hand grab hers. Alarmed, she studied his face. "What, are we gonna make out now?" she asked. Kakashi started laughing and shook his head.

"Nah, I don't think so," he replied. Ai smiled at her teacher.

"Thank you for tonight, sensei," she thanked. "It was wonderful."

Kakashi spun around and was about to walk off when he stopped. Slowly, he turned around and whipped off his mask very briefly to give Ai a peck on the cheek.

"You need the surgery," he said, putting his mask back on. Ai watched him walk off, blushing and smiling.

* * *

**Next chapter: Ai's surgery! How will it go?! Will Guy have a nervous break down? How will every one react to Ai and Kakashi's date? Well, you'll find out soon enough...even sooner if you review.**


	4. Back Fire

****

Hey dudes! I took a little break from uploading so I could update Jealousy/wait for reviews, and MAN did I get reviews. Thanks, Kakashi Forever!

**What will happen during Ai's surgery?? Bum bum BUM!! No need to wait any longer...**

* * *

Guy nervously paced through the hospital hallway. He glanced warily from the clock to Ai, who was lying on a bench, about to fall asleep.

"Don't fall asleep, Ai," he said gently to her. The chunin frowned drowsily and sat up sleepily.

"'Got my inhaler," she muttered. Guy shook his head.

"Just…stay awake for a little bit, OK?"

Yawning from fatigue, Ai got up and walked off. "Where are you going?" Guy asked.

"Bathroom," she replied sleepily and stalked off.

Guy sighed and suddenly looked over as Kakashi walked into the hallway. Kakashi nodded towards his rival then looked around. "Where's Ai?" he asked.

"Bathroom," Guy replied. He gazed curiously at Kakashi. "Hey, what did you tell Ai that convinced her to get this surgery after all?"

Kakashi remembered last night and chuckled. "Well, she made me agree to a condition before she would get the surgery."

"And that condition was…?"

"I had to go on a date with her."

Guy nearly had a heart attack. "A WHAT?!" he demanded. Kakashi laughed at his expression.

"Oh, chill out. We didn't do anything naughty. I took her out to dinner, and then she went home." He decided to skip the part where they went to watch the fish, because that would probably upset Guy.

The jonin sighed warily and leaned against the wall, rubbing his forehead. Kakashi studied him, puzzled. "Long night last night?" he asked. Guy nodded.

"You have no idea," he explained. "Ai woke up three times last night, almost in tears because the burning was so unbearable. She claimed that holding an ice pack to her chest helped, but I know she just said that to make me relax."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. "I see…" he trailed off.

Suddenly the two looked up as Ai walked back to the bench, nearly falling over from fatigue. Kakashi smiled at her. "Morning, sleepy," he commented. Ai smiled/glared at him.

"You really don't want to say that," she replied. Then her eyelids got heavy and she almost fell asleep.

Guy hastily walked over to her and shook her. "Don't fall asleep," he said. Ai heaved and opened her eyes, squinting at the sun coming in through the window.

"What kind of world do we live in when I can't even sleep when I'm tired?!" she demanded. Kakashi chuckled, and Guy sighed and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall again.

Suddenly, the three were startled as the door to the operating room opened, revealing Tsunade. She smiled sympathetically at Ai as she noticed that she was about to fall asleep. "We're ready," she told Kakashi and Guy. The two jonin sighed in unison. Ai got up walked into the operating room. Before she got too far in, she glanced back at the two.

"See ya later," she said over her shoulder, and disappeared into the room.

Guy chewed on his lower lip, probably to keep from crying. Kakashi nearly had a breakdown. He leaned against the wall next to his rival and rubbed his eyes. Truthfully, he didn't catch a wink of sleep all night long.

Tsunade stared at them a moment before following Ai into the operating room. She smirked. _Who knew that all it took was a 14 year old girl to turn those guys into big babies again._

***

It had been an hour and a half since Ai had gone into the operating room. Kakashi and Guy were still huddled outside, exhausted. Natsu had shown up a little after Ai had gone in, and he was lying on the bench, sleeping.

Kakashi ignored his stomach when it churned. He knew he wasn't hungry; he was so stressed and nervous that he thought he was going to throw up. Guy quizzically stared at Kakashi after he heard his stomach. "You OK?" he asked. Kakashi nodded, and the silence returned.

Suddenly, the door to the operating room opened, which startled both the jonin. Natsu twitched but didn't wake up. Tsunade walked out and looked at the three with a grave expression.

"Alright, it's done," she said. "She's been put under, though. We'll know something went wrong if she doesn't wake up 10 minutes."

Kakashi and Guy glanced at each other. Kakashi pushed himself off the wall and went to wake up Natsu. Just as the genin was waking up, though, a medic ran out. "Lady Tsunade!" he said excitedly. "Raiokachi Ai has already woken up!"

"Hunh? What's going on?" Natsu demanded. Kakashi didn't answer, though. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as suddenly Ai walked out next to Tsunade. She yawned and sighed contentedly. "That was the best sleep I've had all week," she said to no one in particular. When she noticed all the flabbergasted stares, she furrowed her brow. "What?"

"Get back in bed!" Tsunade ordered, who was too frightened to think logically. How could someone who just had open heart surgery already be able to walk? She was ignored, though, as Guy ran up and started hugging the life out of her.

"Guh-! Can't…b-breathe…" she choked out as Guy strangled her.

"You're OK!" he exclaimed.

Ai struggled out of his grip. "Yeah, but I won't be for long if you keep doing that." Then the chunin shoved past Guy and stared at her teacher. Kakashi was nearly in tears as she smiled at him. "Was someone a little nervous?" she asked as she noticed the ring under his eye. She hugged him, grateful for the support as she found it a little hard to walk without leaning on something.

"Ai!" Natsu exclaimed, and Ai smiled and untangled herself from Kakashi's waist. The two hugged, mostly from relief. Plus Ai had to still have been doped up on some sort of medication, because she would never hug her teammate with her own mind.

Kakashi watched as Ai said something smart-alecky and Natsu got mad. He knees shook slightly. He couldn't explain the weight that had been lifted off his shoulders. Ai was going to be OK, and that was that.

Finally, Tsunade stomped past the two jonin and grabbed Ai's elbow. "Come ON. We need to see if you're stable." Ai growled.

"Do I look stable to you?" she asked. Tsunade ignored the snappy comment as she dragged Ai back into the operating room and slammed the door behind her.

***

Ai hid behind a giant tree. In fact, it was the same giant tree she had climbed that day to escape from the hospital. She didn't want anyone to know what had just happened.

The surgery had worked fine; Ai no longer woke up in the night with a burning chest. Plus, she even felt stronger than before, because her heart pumped stronger. But now there seemed to be a different problem.

The coughing had returned. This time it brought blood.

Ai shakily lifted her hands to see blood on them from where she had covered her mouth. The iron taste still hung in her mouth. Hastily, and careful not to get any of the red on her bright orange outfit, the chunin dashed to the nearest lake and washed the blood off her hands. She paused a moment, seeing if she was going to start coughing again, but she did no such thing.

"Hey, Ai!" Ai turned around to see Natsu running for her, waving his hand. He grinned at his teammate, and then noticed her wary expression. "You OK?" he asked, remembering that just a few days ago she had open heart surgery.

Ai smirked and waved him off. "I'm fine," she assured. "So, what's up?"

Natsu thumbed towards the Hokage's office. "Tsunade sent me to tell you that you're on active duty again, since you haven't displayed any negative effects from the surgery."

"Oh, OK," Ai nodded. "Thanks Nats." With that, the raven haired genin walked away from his chunin teammate.

Ai looked at the lake again, then left.

* * *

**A/N: So! Tsunade's little surgery had some back fires...specifically to Ai's lungs! Uh oh...**


	5. Finding Out

**A/N: OK, now I'm not entirely postive, but I'm pretty sure the next chapter is the last. Yeah, yeah, this one is slightly shorter than Without a Doubt, I know.**

**Don't worry. I've got numbers 3 and 4 done...and oh man, if you want more after that...I'll have to think a little bit.**

**Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

"Ai, are you…feeling OK?"

Ai looked up to see herself under the worried gaze of her teacher. He had crossed his arms. Ai cocked her head to the side. "Why would you ask that?"

Kakashi ruffled her lightning blonde hair. "I dunno. Just worrying, I guess. You seem a little under the weather."

To be honest, Ai felt horrible. The bloody cough had only gotten more frequent throughout the day, and she didn't want a soul knowing. That could only mean trouble.

Kakashi turned the other direction to look at the village. The two were on the bridge that had the lake with the mating fish. Ai was there by herself before Kakashi joined her and asked her the question.

Ai suddenly felt a tickle in her throat. Oh, no. She had to cough. Seeing as how Kakashi was distracted, Ai stealthily and quietly leapt up into a nearby low-hanging tree branch and ran through some undergrowth. She crouched by a bush and started hacking up blood.

She could hear Kakashi a quarter of a mile away, saying, "Ai? Where'd you go? Ai?" Then he ran off in the opposite direction. Trying to breathe easy, the coughing slowed down. Ai pulled out her inhaler and puffed the mist down her throat. The tickle went away.

Ai sighed miserably and slumped down into the grass next to the bush. What in the world was wrong with her all of a sudden? She'd been ninja training for 1½ years, and nothing like this ever happened to her.

She silently got up and started walking back to the village. Once she was at the bridge again, she looked at the fish that swam around.

Why couldn't she just be like them? All she'd have to do was swim and mate. Sounded easy enough.

***

Ai shakily walked through Konoha. All the blood had made her dizzy. She just wanted to get home and take a nap.

"Ai, there you are."

She stopped walking and saw Kakashi leap from a rooftop and onto the ground in front of her. He smirked.

"You ran off on me a while ago. What was that for?" Ai chuckled sheepishly; then she felt woozy again. She had to lie down.

Kakashi noticed the change in her expression. "Ai? Are you alright?" He furrowed his brow as Ai crossed her eyes a little and stumbled forward. He caught her and held onto her shoulder.

"Careful. Are you dizzy?"

Suddenly, there was a burst in her throat. Ai fell into Kakashi's chest. The jonin started to panic. "What's wrong? Say something. I'm starting to freak out." The kunoichi tried gulping, but the cough was coming no matter what.

She started hacking into Kakashi's chest, and she heard his heartbeat speed up from panic. Ai fumbled for her inhaler but couldn't find it. When she backed away, she saw a giant blood stain on her teacher's vest.

"Ai!" Kakashi said in a frantic voice.

Ai clenched her jaw. "Crap," she muttered, then fell into Kakashi's chest again, coughing.

There was something wrong. There was something seriously wrong. Kakashi, out of reflex, held Ai close to him, as if to protect her from something. Then he reached into the weapon's roster on the back of her leg and searched around, but couldn't the inhaler. "Darn it," Kakashi said aloud. He looked around the area but couldn't find anyone who could help him.

"Hang on," he told Ai, swooping her up in his arms. Why did this kind of thing always happen to him? He was no medic. Starting to shake from fear, the jonin hopped from rooftop to rooftop until he arrived at the hospital. The lady at the front desk gasped at the huge blood stain on Kakashi's vest.

"Hurry!" she called. "Someone treat this man! He was stabbed!"

"What?" Kakashi asked, too worried about Ai to comprehend anything. A few medics showed up, grabbing Ai and dragging Kakashi away. "No, it's not me!" he yelled. "It's her! She's coughing up blood!"

The medics sweat-dropped at their own mistake and released Kakashi, instead rushing Ai to an examining room. Kakashi tried to follow, but was intervened by Shizune, who had just arrived. "Stay here," she commanded, and followed the other medics.

There was complete disparity in Kakashi's gaze as his student was hauled off to a room.

***

"Stop it! I'm _fine_."

Shizune glanced over her papers at the medics that were about to put the IV in her veins. "Ignore her," she told them, then her gaze fixated on Ai. "How can you say you're fine? You're coughing up blood."

Ai snorted. "It's probably just some kind of side effect from the surgery. Leftover blood in the lungs?" Shizune shook her head and put the clipboard she carried on a nearby counter.

"I've never heard of that being a side effect of heart surgery," she replied, raising an eyebrow. Ai furrowed her brows defiantly and nearly screamed as the medics were about to insert the IV into her veins.

"Stop it! I don't need it!" Ai told them, yanking her arm away from them. The medics gave each other puzzled expressions. Shizune sighed, but looked up at the door to the room as someone knocked on it.

"Come in," she called, and the door opened, revealing Kakashi. The medic smiled at the jonin, but Kakashi only looked puzzled.

"Where's Ai?" he asked. Shizune raised an eyebrow curiously.

"What do you mean?" she asked, spinning around. "Ai's right there in the be—" She cut her own sentence off as she realized that both of the medics were passed out and Ai was gone. "What the?! Where's she at? Why are the medics passed out?"

Kakashi thought for a brief moment and grew a sheepish expression. "Well…that MIGHT have been the move that I taught her that showed her where pressure points are located…"

Shizune glared at him for a second before turning back to the passed out medics. "Alright. You might as well go and bring her back. I need to bring a couple fresh medics in while I wait for these two to wake up."

Kakashi nodded and jumped out the now-open window, hoping to grab a fresh trail before Ai got too far.

* * *

**Noticing a pattern here? Yeah, it's called 'running out of ideas for this particular situation'. Don't worry, the next chapter's the last. You won't see any more recycled content (for a while, anyway). Please review!**


	6. Trust

**A/N: Well guys, this is it. Short chapter, I know. I didn't plan out which sections would be in which chapters when I wrote this. So sorry.**

**Don't worry though, this isn't the last one. Never Leave will be up very soon. So stick arond! Also, if you liked this, please review!**

* * *

Ai laid down on the same smooth branch she had before. She sighed contentedly, once again, and decided to lay on her back. Her eyes closed only momentarily before she felt a rope wrap around her torso. It wasn't a rope, though; it felt more like fishing line.

"Oh, come on. Don't pull the 'I'm asleep' act," Kakashi said sternly. He stood in front of his student, his hand firmly clasp around the fishing line. Ai opened her eyes and looked up at her teacher. She tried struggling, but couldn't get her arms free.

"There's no use struggling," he said. "Look, I know you were never one for medical treatment, and I know that you can't sit still for too long, but you should have let the medics treat you."

"For what?" Ai asked. "I'm completely fine."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Says the giant blood stain on my vest," he said sarcastically. Ai put on a worried expression.

"Sorry I had to do that," she said quickly. "I couldn't stand up on my own, and I felt it in my throat…"

"See?" Kakashi said with calmer edge to his voice now. "There's something wrong with your lungs. You shouldn't be coughing blood if you're perfectly healthy. Now come on." The jonin dropped the fishing line, loosening the bind that had captured Ai. He held out his hand to her.

Ai studied the hand for a moment before smiling and accepting it. How could she say no to Kakashi? She liked him way too much for him to lose his trust in her. "Well, alright then," she grinned.

Kakashi suddenly stood back in alarm as Ai began to cough again. The attack was relatively light this time, though. Ai leaned her head on Kakashi's shoulder. He smirked musingly. "Who's not sick, now?" he asked.

Ai snorted and started off back to the hospital.

***

"I'm starting to hate these things, you know…"

Ai studied the new inhaler that Tsunade had given her. She hung her legs over the side of the bridge, her sandals almost skimming the surface of the lake. Kakashi stood on the other side of the bridge, watching the water ripple as different insects skimming across the top. He looked back at the chunin.

"Well, at least you aren't coughing up blood," Kakashi put in. Ai frowned and was tempted to throw the stupid thing into the lake.

In fact, she had just risen up her arm and was about to toss the inhaler into the water when Kakashi grabbed it. "Now now," he said, his calm voice having a musing edge to it. "Let's not do anything we'll regret."

Ai smirked and waved her teacher off. "Meh. Keep the thing. I don't need it." She yelped slightly as Kakashi replaced it into her weapon's roster.

"Yes, you do," he said sternly. Ai untangled herself from the bridge and stood up. The sun was beginning to set, and she remembered that she had to get home to cook Guy dinner.

"Catch ya later, sensei," she said as she walked off. Kakashi watched her go, with a twinkle in his eye. What was wrong with him? Why did he care about this particular student so much? Why not Naruto or Sakura, or Ai's teammates, Natsu or Cherry?

Whatever the reason was, he knew one thing: he would never let Ai get hurt. Ever.

_The End for now…_


	7. Bonus! A Living Nightmare

**A/N: BONUS TIME! When I was planning how I would write out the 'before the surgery' scene, I came up with lots of different ideas. I didn't end up using it, but this one is by far my favorite. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was the next morning, and the day of Ai's surgery. Currently, her and Guy were waiting outside the operating room. Ai was seated on the bench, looking very tired, and Guy was standing up next to her.

The kunoichi's eyes drooped and she sighed, her head hanging. Guy, alarmed, nudged her shoulder. "Ai, don't fall asleep," he said in a distressed voice.

Ai groaned and reluctantly opened her eyes. "I got my inhaler," she said in a tired voice. Guy frowned and stood back up again.

"I know, just…don't fall asleep."

There was silence for a moment before footsteps were heard coming down the hallway. The two looked over and saw Kakashi walking towards them. "Hey," he said to the two with a nod. Guy nodded back, but Ai was unresponsive.

"You look tired," he said to Ai. The chunin smirked and glared up at her teacher.

"No, really?" she asked. Then her eyelids finally drooped again and she collapsed onto the bench, totally blacked out.

Guy was about to wake her up again, but Kakashi stopped him. "No, Guy, it's alright," he stated calmly. "Might as well let her sleep now."

The two jonin looked at the door to the operating room in unison. "How long until they take her in?" Kakashi asked, a tiny dreading edge to his voice.

"They said 20 minutes last time I checked," he said. "And that was 10 minutes ago."

_10 minutes…_ Kakashi thought.

The copy nin then rested his gaze on Ai, who was sleeping soundly. "How was she last night?" he asked Guy without taking his eyes off her.

The jonin rubbed his eyes. "Last night was a nightmare for her."

Kakashi finally ripped his gaze from his student and looked Guy in the face for the first time. "How often did she wake up?"

"It depended," Guy explained. "Sometimes it would only be about 15 or 20 minutes between attacks. Sometimes less than that. Other times it would be around 2 hours before she would wake up again."

"No wonder she's exhausted," Kakashi realized with a start. "What did you do?"

"There wasn't much I COULD do," Guy told his rival. "She said putting an ice pack on her chest helped, but she was just lying to make me feel better."

Kakashi chuckled. "That's new. Making YOU feel better?"

"Yeah, I know," Guy agreed, a small smile forming on his face. Then he frowned again. "I just don't want her to ever go through that again…"

Suddenly, the two were interrupted when Ai suddenly shot up, clutching her chest. "Oh crap, not again," she choked out, and started coughing and breathing in short, painful bursts.

"Ai!" Guy exclaimed, and he sat down on the bench next to her. Bewildered, Kakashi sat down on her other side, putting a hand on her back out of habit. He trembled as he felt her heart pump in short, irregular pumps.

Ai heaved and finally stopped coughing. "…when will…it ever…end…" she said in a raspy voice, swaying and leaning onto Kakashi. The jonin grabbed her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice a little shaken. Ai nodded and closed her eyes, her head being supported by Kakashi's arm.

Guy sighed and rubbed his eyes. If this surgery didn't work…her life was going to be a living nightmare.


End file.
